Banjo Mic

The only time I recorded banjo I got pretty good results with just an SM-57, perhaps not a great choice if you're after a really 'bright' sound but worth a try (assuming you have a 57).
 
rll882000 said:
...using a MXL 990 and it sounds pretty good but i want a little brighter tone...
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You're using a 990 on banjo and you want it brighter?!? :eek: Makes my ears bleed just thinking about this! :p

Have you tried different positions? Hold the mic in your hand and move it around the banjo while listening through headphones to find the sound you want, then position your mic there for recording.
 
Have you listened to recorded banjo tracks? They have almost no high end at all. The lows and low mids are pushed and the highs are rolled off. I think a nice dynamic (sm7, senn 441 or 421, or an EV RE__{submit affordable # here}) would sound good and give you the least amout of noise
 
One trick I learned from working with many Banjo players is the AKG C1000. For seem reason it seems to work really well with banjos. Not with much else though:D
 
I've got a special mod I use on banjo. I gutted an old sm57. I set up its empty shell in front of the banjo player. Then I press record. Then, while the banjo player plays away, I quietly sneak out the door, hail a cab, take it to the airport, and fly away to start a new life somewhere else. Sure, I've lost my studio and left my old life behind, but the greater good I've done for humanity by not recording the banjo outweighs my own individual loss.

Sorry...not very funny, but banjo jokes must be forged.

To your question, if you must document the banjo's mysterious, haunting sound, don't seek to boost the high end. You'll be doing the listener a favor. (unless you're recording the soundtrack for a horror movie. Maybe that's what you're doing. In that case, just follow the mic placement suggestion. The MXL has plenty of high end. If you want it boosted "a little" hit it eq style.)
 
Depends on the banjo and the tone you want in the mix. 5-string, tenor, plectrum, open back, resonator are all different as are banjo heads.

Generally you want it bright but not brittle. As said earlier C 1000's work well for some reason. You might try other SD condensers too. 57's are ok also.

LD condensers don't fair very well and nothing has worked on my three banjos.

Good luck
 
Dude, you have three banjos? You should start a banjo army. We could deploy you to enemy states. The terrorists would come out of the bunkers holding their ears, waving a hastily fashioned white flag...
 
After they were weakened by the initial banjo assault, we could send in the bagpipes. Then the real carnage would begin.
 
Sonic Idiot said:
Dude, you have three banjos? You should start a banjo army. We could deploy you to enemy states. The terrorists would come out of the bunkers holding their ears, waving a hastily fashioned white flag...
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I used to have more but they took up accordian space.
 
On the other hand, his is probably not what you would consider a typical banjo sound, and maybe not even desirable for bluegrass. Of course I'd still love to know how he does it. It would also be nice to know the recording setup for when he was in New Grass Revival. Actually, When I see him with the Flecktones, I almost don't even notice him, I'm paying too much attention to Victor. Those clowns in the 60's who said 'Clapton is God' obviously need to see Victor play.
 
the afternoon of January 4, 1999, musicians started to arrive and the shoot-outs between mic and mic pre combinations were done on each of them. Over that last couple of decades, I have collected various mics and mic pre's, so finding the combinations that musicians liked was not that hard. For microphones, this time I used a Sanken 31 and 32 on guitar, AT 4033 and Neumann KM84 on mandolin, U67 and a 47 on dobro, and U47 and KM54 on banjo. John Hartford's vocals were recorded on a U47, with a Sony C-37 on his banjo. After dinner we started to record, beginning with "Blue Mountain Hop." By 10:30 that night, that song was in the can.

This from a Bela Fleck session http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_behind_strings_bela/

http://www.rogernichols.com/EQ/belafleck.html

And how stupid are you to bash Clapton. Yeah Victors great, but bash Clapton? In the words os Chessrock "poopoo head"
 
I play a 5-string Gibson Mastertone, and would start with my Beyer M400 Soundstar-II dynamic, to tame the high end.
 
Banjo is much like recording a drumset.See da widdle head?...okay....A large D condenser is the preferred beast to tame this thing.And a darker mic than one would expect.Another thing is the room.Banjos dont like tiled bathrooms....or basements.....or any place that gets a buildup in the mids and upper crud areas.I record a LOT of banjo.We have two_Ones a very nice handmade but slightly off brand.Its darker and needs more tweeking to get out the mechanical issues banjos can have.Did you know that banjos can actually 'feedback' mechanically?They can create this intense standing wave at one frequency or the other and really cause some issues with a recording.The other banjo is a Deering.Its a $4000 banjo. It sounds perfect every time.Its so easy to record.No issues.

I use an available LDC out around 10-12 inches from the neck joint.In conjunction with this if its a strummed part,I use an SDC at the hot spot on the head below the bridge and if its an Earl Scruggs part I use the SDC on the peghead for clarity.Sounds silly but it works wonders.


We march in close to the terrorists with the banjos blaring accompanied by the bagpipes supported by the Tubas and the accordians.We airdrop box knives to them so they can slit their own throats.
 
What is a "perfect" banjo sound? Does it sound extra "banjo-y"?

What do you add to $70 worth of junk to make it worth $4,000? Do you write Gibson on the headstock? The world is strange.

But seriously, if you posted some audio of your 4-goddamned-thousand-dollar banjo, I'd be very curious--especially next to the other banjo...the one that is less "banjo-y".

The "self feedback" thing is interesting...must research.
 
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